ADP: August Employment Up by 428,000

Ahead of this morning’s unemployment insurance claims report from the Labor Department and Friday’s employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ADP, Roseland, N.J., said private-sector employment increased by 428,000 jobs in August.

The ADP National Employment Report said by company size, small businesses added 52,000 jobs; medium-sized businesses added 79,000 jobs; and large businesses added 298,000 jobs.

Of note, ADP said service-providing employers added 389,000 jobs in August, of which 11,000 were in the financial services industry. Construction employers added 28,000 jobs.

“The August job postings demonstrate a slow recovery,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute. “Job gains are minimal, and businesses across all sizes and sectors have yet to come close to their pre-COVID-19 employment levels.”

The Labor Department will release its Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims report this morning at 8:30 a.m. ET. Since March, initial claims have held above one million per week with just one exception, during which time 57.4 million Americans have filed for initial claims. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its August Employment Report; last month, BLS reported the unemployment rate at 10.2 percent.